Social Inclusion and Economic Development in Latin America by IDB

Social Inclusion and Economic Development in Latin America

Anti-discrimination Legislation and Policies in Mexico

Comprehensive Approach to Protecting against Discriminatory Practices The draft law is comprehensive and does not allow for “degrees” of protection against discrimination. Anyone who belongs to a group vulnerable to discrimination or exclusion has a universal right to be free of discrimination. The federal law acts as a kind of new charter of civil rights, requiring a set of specific protection measures and institutional actions, each to be developed in detailed laws, regulations and public policy criteria applicable to each specific group. Although the law lists groups that are considered especially vulnerable to discrimination, based on sociological evidence of systematic exclusion and social marginalization, this in no way compromises the law’s universal nature. The comprehensive approach allows the legal project to be understood as a tool for advancing social cohesion, not for increasing social differences or perpetuating the disconnection of minorities from the social life of communities. By creating a more positive public attitude toward vulnerable groups (such as the disabled), the law makes it possible to align them with more socially challenged groups (such as groups with unconventional sexual preferences and religious minorities) and to sensitize the population to the harmful nature of all kinds of discrimination.

Regulating Practices and Attitudes in Public and Private Spheres Although combating discrimination is an essential part of the fight for full respect for human rights, national institutions that defend human rights have sometimes failed to intervene in instances of marginalization and social exclusion that take place outside the public domain. In Mexico, institutional defense of human rights has concentrated on protecting people against abuses of state power. However, protection against discrimination also requires strong institutional interventions in relations generally considered private or partially private, such as labor relations or those involving health care and education, and where discriminatory practices are widespread. Effective legislation against discrimination must therefore have the authority to intervene in the private domain whenever necessary.